The Isle of Thickets
by Lady Zephyrine
Summary: Most of the Kongs and Kremling have been taken to another island. And from the looks of it, Diddy will have to help save them once again. However, the monkeys on this island have more to do with his family than he initially thought...
1. Chapter 1

_**So I MAY have decided to write another DKC fic. Only this time, I don't have to worry about things like bosses and such.**_

_**With that being said, there's some OCs involved with this. But with that said, let us begin.**_

* * *

He wasn't sure how he did it, but after tinkering with it for so long, Diddy was able to get his jetpack to work. It wasn't the exact same as the one that Cranky gave him. And at most, it was only good for gliding. But after so long, the young monkey was able to get it to fly.

"DK, watch this!" Diddy yelled as he continued to do somersaults in the air. His uncle, DK, was sitting outside on the porch of his treehouse. He had a glass of soda in his hand. One usually wouldn't think that he'd have to worry about Diddy getting hurt, especially since he'd been on so many adventures on his own. But even then, it didn't change the fact that Diddy was his kid, so it didn't make him any less nervous.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Little Buddy," DK said while taking a sip from his glass. "That thing could malfunction at any second."

...Of course, Diddy wasn't listening. He enjoyed flying, and he continued to do so until he started to feel a jerk coming from his jetpack. It began to jerk so much that it became unstable.

"Oh gees!" DK yelled as he threw the soda aside and dropped down from the treehouse while ignoring the shattering glass. Diddy screamed helplessly as he skyrocketed through the air. He grabbed onto a tree branch, but he wasn't able to hold on for too long.

DK ran after him as Diddy flew through the jungle and nearly hit some of the Kongs there. Eventually, he began to fly towards the beach. DK cringed in pain as he heard Diddy crashing into something. He hoped that his nephew didn't crash into Dixie's shack. As he made his way over to the beach, however, he just saw a group of Kongs standing around outside of said shack. The smallest one in the group looked at her sister with a defeated look. "Welp...Guess I'll have to go find him, huh?"

"All right, just be careful out there."

The younger Kong headed further into the beach, her long pigtails dragged across the sand. As she left, DK looked down at Dixie with a worried look. "I hope we haven't been causin' ya too much trouble."

"Not really," Dixie replied with a shrug. "I'm more worried that Diddy'll hurt himself with that jetpack of his. Remember when we barely got through that fire in the Bright Savannah?"

"Well...yeah," DK said weakly. "But the kid can't help it, flying's in his blood after all."

Dixie was going to ask him what he meant, but she decided against it. Besides, the only other Kong here that was known for his flying was Funky. And even then, he's not much of an adventurer.

"So have you seen any Kremlings around, lately?" DK asked. Dixie shook her head. "Nope, I haven't seen a single one."

"Still?" DK was curious. K. Rool hasn't really done anything to the Kongs lately...well, aside from joining that special fighting tournament and napping at DK's treehouse every once in a while. But for the past several days, K. Rool hasn't shown up at all. DK hated to admit it, but he was getting worried about him and Kremling Krew.

"...Do you think we should head on over to Crocodile Isle?"

"Are you serious?" Dixie asked with a deadpan expression. "What if they've set up a trap over there?"

"Hey, it's not like we haven't dealt with Kremlings before. I'm sure we could take on whatever they decide to throw at us."

Dixie sighed. "All right, but I don't wanna hear it when one of us gets captured!"

The Kongs made their way over to a nearby boat and began to make their way over to Crocodile Isle. Compared to Donkey Kong Island, Crocodile Isle was more of a ship or a fortress than an actual island. But it had been standing there for so long, it may as well be an island at this point.

* * *

Dixie's sister continued to make her way through the beach. Once in a while, she would come across crabs, clams, and many other sea creatures. Eventually, she found another route into the jungle. This route actually lead to the hot springs, which was closer to DK's treehouse than it was to the village.

Diddy was in one of the springs, along with a few fallen trees. For some reason, he looked like he was having trouble getting out. He winced whenever he tried to lift himself, Dixie's sister couldn't help but rush over to him.

"Gees, are you OK?"

"No...not really," Diddy replied. "You think you can help me out here, Tiny?"

Tiny knelt down and took a closer look at Diddy's arm, It didn't appear to be broken, but his wrist looked pretty swollen. She grabbed onto Diddy's good arm and helped to pull him out.

"Did you grab onto anything while flying?"

"Well I grabbed onto a branch at some point," Diddy said. "Next thing I knew, I was sitting here in the springs."

Tiny sighed. "Yeah, well...we're gonna have to wrap up that wrist of yours when we get you home."

The duo began to make their way through the jungle. As they walked, Tiny couldn't help but feel concerned about Diddy. He wasn't even paying attention to his surroundings, he was more focused on his wrist than anything else. Climbing the treehouse wasn't going to be easy, either. Tiny could climb the steps easily, though Diddy had some trouble getting up with only one arm.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Tiny asked.

"No, I think I got this," Diddy replied. It took him a little while, but he managed to make his way into the treehouse. She grabbed a first-aid kit and pulled out some bandages.

"You really seem to know what you're doing, huh?"

"Well, someone's gotta keep an eye on Dixie when you're not around," Tiny said proudly. "She used to get all kinds of scrapes and bruises when we were younger."

"I'd believe it," Diddy replied. Although Dixie has matured since she first got here, she still had her moments where she needed to explore.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sharp pain in his wrist and instinctively jerked his arm back. Tiny grabbed onto his arm as she wrapped the bandages around his wrist, "Hold still!"

Diddy rolled his eyes as he grabbed onto the side of the hammock. He tried to fight the urge to pull his arm back, but his wrist still hurt. Once Tiny was done, she stepped back. "What do you think? Too tight?"

"Er...I don't think so," Diddy said. "It just sorta hurts is all."

"Well don't use it too much, then," Tiny said as she walked over to a nearby tire to sit in. The tire was covered in pillows and blankets that were thrown around haphazardly.

"You know that's my bed, right?" Diddy asked.

"Well, at least it's not covered in banana peels," Tiny replied. Diddy lowered his eyelids as he looked over the mess on the floor, it was covered in banana peels. In fact, even DK's hammock had banana peels hanging off of it. The young monkey sighed as he stood up and started tossing the peels inside a nearby trash can. DK really needed to remember to pick up after himself.

Meanwhile, Tiny was looking around the treehouse with a curious expression. She could see that there were books, movies and games stacked neatly on one of the shelves. There were pictures hanging off the walls as well. Most of them were just pictures of DK and Diddy, though other pictures involved either DK's relatives or his girlfriend. One thing that caught Tiny's eye, however, was a group picture. In the photo was a younger version of DK, along with a couple of other young Kongs., One of the Kongs wore a yellow dress. She didn't have the eyebrow ridge like the others had, but she had a similar build to DK nonetheless.

"Say, Diddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's the girl DK's standing next to here?"

Diddy looked confused until he realized that Tiny was talking about one of the photos. "Oh, that's my mom!"

"Huh..." Tiny sat back down on the tire and crossed her legs. "I...never really put much thought into what your mom looked like...nor did I think she existed."

"Well...she was supposed to find me in a barrel." Diddy said as he tossed the last banana peel into the trash. "Someone killed her before she had the chance to find me, so DK took me in instead.

Tiny lowered her eyelids, she was pretty sure that wasn't how babies worked. "OK...but if she's your mom, how come she doesn't have a tail?"

"That's 'cause I got my tail from my dad," Diddy replied as he sat back down into the hammock. "DK told me he came from another tribe somewhere."

"So he wasn't a Kong?"

"Well...not at first. But he became a Kong once he decided to live here," Diddy replied. "All I know is that he was kind of a jerk, but he loved mom an awful lot...or so I've been told."

"That's it? You don't know anything else about him?"

"Not a clue," Diddy replied. "For all I know, he could've been a horse thief where he lived."

Tiny nodded in understanding. It was interesting to hear that Diddy HAD parents at some point, but who they were was probably none of her business. Besides, he's lived with DK his whole life. So who his father was probably didn't matter all that much to him.

Speaking of which, where was DK? Was he still at the beach with Dixie?

* * *

As the two Kongs made their way over to Crocodile Isle, the first thing they noticed was the lack of Kremlings. There were no Kritters, no Klumps...there weren't even any Klaptraps scuttling across the floor.

"What do you think happened out here?" Dixie asked.

"I dunno," DK replied. "It's like they all just...vanished."

"Huh..." Dixie took notice of something sitting along the metallic shore, near what was once home to K. Rool's pirate ship. There were airplanes here, they looked like they were in good condition too. At the very least, they didn't look like something Funky would've made...nor did they look like something that Diddy's friends would've driven.

"Do you think the Kremlings made these?" Dixie asked.

"No," DK said quietly," but I've seen these kinds of planes before..."

The big ape continued to think. He'd seen this plane before, somewhere...Funky had nothing to do with these ones...though come to think of it, Diddy's father had a plane similar to these ones, didn't he?

A thought finally crossed DK's mind, he grabbed onto Dixie's shirt and placed her onto his back. "Quick, we've gotta head to the throne room!"

"DK, wait!" Dixie yelled. Unfortunately, however. It didn't look like the big ape would listen. Both Kongs failed to notice someone poking her snout from inside of one of the planes...

When DK went inside the island, he noticed that there was not a single Kremling...but there WERE monkeys everywhere. Most of them looked startled more than they were angry, some even began whispering under their breath.

"Is that Junior?"

"No, that can't be him."

"Maybe that's his son?"

Dixie had a weary look on her face, something told her that she wasn't going to find anything pleasant out here. And once the Kongs reached the throne room, sitting on the throne was not K. Rool but another one of those monkeys. He had dark grey fur and long, white hair resembling a lion's mane. His bottom canines poked out of his mouth. He wasn't very big, and he probably stood up to DK's shoulders at most. But he still looked very intimidating nonetheless. Standing next to him was another monkey, she had light grey hair that was tied into a long braid. She had a bewildered look on her face.

"Is that you, DK?" asked the monkey, "My, you've gotten big."

"BREEZY!"

"Yes, sir!" The monkey said as she stiffened from fear. DK gave her a worried glance before moving his gaze over to the other monkey. "So why are you here?"

"Well...We WERE going to Donkey Kong Island, but that big fool Keith had nothing better to do than to just sit around and do nothing. So I figured that it would be as good of a time as any to take HIS island, too."

"So what did you do to the Kremlings?"

"Easy," the monkey said with a shrug. "I took them all back to MY island, my guards are watching the castle as we speak."

Dixie was lost, she looked down at DK with a confused look. "You know these guys?"

"They're-"

"Oh-ho...So the little girl CAN speak," said the monkey. "Tell me, is she yours?"

"I'm...watching her for a friend," DK replied. "And why do you care, anyway? It's not like you treat anybody with respect anyway!"

"Well, YOU were the ones that stole Osprey from me in the first place!" the monkey argued. "How IS Osprey doing, anyway? Does he miss us?"

"He's..." DK looked down, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Breezy had a horrified look on her face, but the monkey on the throne didn't seem to care. "Ah well, he'd still be alive if he didn't come to your island in the first place. But since YOU'RE still here, why don't you two stay for a bit?"

Before the Kongs had time to react, several monkeys ran into the room and pointed their spears towards them. They started guiding DK out of the throne room. Dixie hopped off and tried to escape, but another monkey managed to catch her. Breezy looked up at the monkey with a worried expression. "And what did you want us to do next, sir?"

"Well...once those Kongs are off this island, we'll be heading over to the other one and grabbing as many of the remaining Kongs as we can. And Breezy?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I don't want you to pull any tricks when we get there...do I make myself clear?"

Breezy nodded in understanding, yet she couldn't help but worry. She wished that there was a way to help get DK out of this mess. Perhaps Osprey's girlfriend was still there? Or rather his wife? Or his ex? Given how long it's been since she'd actually SEEN Osprey, she wasn't entirely sure.

Still, she couldn't just let this monkey take whatever he wanted. She just hoped that she could figure something out, soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the monkeys made their way over to Donkey Kong Island, Breezy couldn't help but sneak off. With so many green trees and wild animals out here, it was no wonder Osprey wanted to live here.

She eventually stumbled upon DK's treehouse. The cave underneath it didn't have too many bananas, it might've been harvest time for these Kongs. However, she also heard noises coming from inside the treehouse above it. She made her way up to the porch and peaked inside the window. Inside, there were two Kongs watching a movie about a human girl living with animals. Strangely, one of the Kongs even looked like Osprey.

"Say, Diddy?"

"Yeah?"

"If YOU had to move to a town like that, would you do it?"

"Of course! Heck, I'd even convince Dixie, Timber, and everyone else to move in with me!"

"Yeah...but you'd have to pay for the house."

"True..."

Breezy sighed, but she quickly moved aside as the Kongs looked back at the window. She climbed off of the porch as she heard the TV turn off. Thankfully, she was hidden before Diddy looked out the window.

"What was that?"

"I dunno, it was probably one of the parrots."

Slowly, Breezy made her way down and started walking away from the treehouse. As she walked, she ran into two other monkeys from her tribe.

"Oy! Breezy! Did ya run into any Kongs out here?"

"...No, not really." Breezy said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"But what about the treehouse?"

"That...I believe is DK's Treehouse, but I didn't see anyone there."

Breezy's heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, she wondered if the two monkeys would buy into her lie. Thankfully, the two let out a shrug.

"Eh...that makes sense. Can't imagine DK bein' the kind o' guy who'd wanna live with anyone."

"Well, except for that sexy Kong lady at the music shop."

Breezy and and the other monkey glared, causing the third monkey to panic. "What? I'm just saying that she looks nice."

"Whatever, just go to the forest and see if you can find any more Kongs. I'll be stayin' here just in case we miss anything."

"Yes, ma'am!" The two monkeys said as they ran off. Breezy looked back at the treehouse once more before she kept moving, all she could hope for was that those two kids were safe on their own.

As time went on, and all the Kongs had been captured, it was time for Breezy to head back to her plane. She thought about writing a note for those two Kongs to find. Maybe when the other monkeys were gone, she could write something in the sand? That could get their attention.

...Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw a crocodile tearing one of the wings off the plane with her jaws. The other wing was damaged, and the propeller was broken into smaller pieces.

"HEY! HEY! HEY!" Breezy yelled as she picked up the croc and tossed her aside. "What did you do to my plane!?"

"I tore it apart just to get back at you guys," said the croc. Breezy glared at her. "How are you even OUT here!? Aren't you s'posed to be locked up in Avery's dungeon?"

"Yeah...but I found a hole in the wall. And since everyone else was getting ready to leave, I thought I'd hide in one of the planes."

"You were hiding for DAYS!"

"Yeah, well...Kremlings can go without food for MONTHS if they have to...Speaking of which, do you have any food on you? I'm kinda hungry?"

Breezy groaned in frustration as she kicked one of the broken wings. "Unbelievable! My plane's trashed, I lied about those Kongs in the treehouse, and one o' the Kremlings is out here all by herself! Avery's gonna kill me!"

"Whoa, calm down!" said the Kremling. "If you're THAT worked up over this Avery guy, why not just stay here and sit for a while?"

"Because Avery's not gonna go easy on a failure like me," Breezy said as she shook her head in disbelief. "Argh...he's gonna feed me to the Neckies, I just know it!"

The Kremling started to feel bad. Avery and his monkey army may be horrible people, but this monkey certainly wasn't. Maybe with the right push, she'll be willing to do something about it...

"You know...If you really hated him that much, why not fight him back, yourself?"

"Because..." Breezy paused for a moment, her terrified expression shifted to that of annoyance. "Look, I don't need to tell you anything!"

"OK...but I think I know where to find an airplane...That is, if you WANNA fight Avery."

...Oh right, Osprey lived on this island too. Maybe his plane is still out here, somewhere? And if that kid really WAS related to Osprey, then maybe he could help convince Avery to let everyone go?

"...Very well, then. Lead the way," Breezy said as the Kremling stood up. She started guiding her along the beach. As soon as she finds the plane, Breezy would have to look for those Kongs again.

* * *

Diddy looked like he was bothered by something. He wasn't sure why, but he felt as if something bad was going to happen...Or maybe it's already happened? He wasn't always sure.

"What's wrong?" Tiny asked. "Are you still bothered by that noise?"

"...Maybe?" Diddy said with uncertainty. "Honestly, I'm kinda surprised that DK hasn't come back, yet."

"Hey, maybe he's off on an adventure somewhere with Dixie."

"But why, though?"

"...Because she was the closest ally he could find?" Tiny said with a shrug. "Besides, what would you even do with that sprained wrist of yours?"

Diddy grumbled. He could still use one of his popguns, but he wouldn't be able to climb or use his jetpack for a while. Heck, he wouldn't even be able to run as fast on two feet as he would on all fours.

"Hey...if it'll make you feel any better, we can go see if DK's still at the beach."

Diddy replied with a nod. With that said, the Kongs started to head out into the village. Surprisingly, the village was empty. Not a soul was to be seen out here. Diddy and Tiny began to peak inside some of the huts that laid across the village. But no matter how many times they looked, there was nobody there.

"Do you think that there might be someone at the beach?" Tiny asked. Diddy shrugged, "There's only one way to find out."

On their way to the beach, they spotted what looked like a Kremling trying to make her way into Funky's garage. She was wearing a striped hoodie. If she were a Kong, she would've overheated at this point. But as a Kremling, it didn't seem to matter. Standing next to her was a monkey with grey fur, she had an impatient look on her face.

"Are you sure there's an airplane in there?"

"There's gotta be, I haven't seen anyone use it lately."

"Well, we've still gotta see if those Kongs wanted to come along and help us," The monkey said, her eyes widened as she saw Diddy and Tiny standing by them. "Oh, speak o' the devil."

"What's going on?" Diddy asked as he gave the Kremling a confused look. "Where did she come from, Kass?"

"The Isle of Thickets," Kass replied. "I'd not as nice as it sounds, though."

"Right, I should properly introduce myself," The monkey said with a polite bow. "My name is Breezy Thicket, I'm King Avery's right-hand man...metaphorically speaking."

"Er...right," Diddy said as he and Tiny looked at each other in confusion. "I'm Diddy, that's Tiny-" he pointed at the younger Kong "-And I happen to be DK's heir to the throne."

"Well...Aren't you lucky," Breezy said, almost bitterly. "Uh...You wouldn't happen to have known Osprey, would you?"

"Kinda...?" Diddy replied, "He's my dad, but that's all I know about him."

"I see," Breezy said, smiling. "Well, Osprey happened to be my cousin...or at least he was until he took off with the Kongs."

"Hey, I don't mean to ruin the family reunion," Kass yelled, "but aren't we supposed to be getting the plane running?"

"I'll get to it in a moment." Breezy said. She knelt down to Diddy's level. "You see...we were ordered to take every Kong and Kremling back to the Isle o' Thickets. The reason being that he wanted to take both islands for himself. I know you're still young, but do you think you can help us?"

"But I thought you said you were Avery's partner!"

"I am...but someone's gotta knock some sense into him," Breezy replied. "And I don't think I can do this alone..."

Diddy had a look of uncertainty on his face. "Well I'd love to help, but..." He looked down at his wrist, he was worried that if he did anything, he could hurt it even worse than it was right now.

"Just go with it," Tiny yelled as she jumped inside one of the windows to Funky's garage. "It's not like you have anything better to do!"

"...You know what, yeah. I'll come with ya," Diddy replied. He'd have to take things a little easier this adventure, not to mention that he knew NOTHING about the Thickets. But with Breezy around, maybe he could learn a thing or two about them.

The door to Funky's garage had opened, Tiny walked out with a proud expression. With the plane now available, Kass turned to the group with her hands behind her back. "You guys might wanna bundle up before we leave. It's fall on the Isle of Thickets, so you'll need to be prepared for whatever Avery throws at you."

Both Kongs nodded as they started to head on home. Diddy wasn't sure what to expect on the Isle of Thickets. But given the adventures he's been in before, this shouldn't be any different from that.

He just hoped that the Kongs were going to be all right out there.

* * *

_**Just a head's up, we'll be seeing DK and Dixie again soon...along with a certain someone.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Within the Isle of Thickets sat a lonely castle on the very top of the mountain. Though it may not be as big as the Kremling's castle once was, it was still impressive to look at from down below.

Inside the castle's dungeon, the half Kremlings were locked up. The other half was doing...Well, not even the Kremling King knew what was happening.

Speaking of which, a large Kremling was sitting inside one of the cells. The bars were covered in bite marks, the wall below the window was covered by a blanket and some stone.

"All right, get in your cell! The rest of your tribe should be here, shortly!"

The Kremling's eyes widened as a monkey pushed two Kongs into his cell. He ran towards the bigger Kong and started hugging him.

"Can you believe it, Donkey?" The Kremling said dramatically. "These wretched fleabags decided to lock ME of all people in this dingy cell. Do you even know what it's LIKE to get kidnapped like that?"

"Oh, I can think of a few examples," DK said bitterly. He tried to push the Kremling away. "NOW GET OFF!"

"Wait, K. Rool...how did they lock you up in the first place?" asked Dixie.

"Oh, you know," K. Rool said as he dropped DK back onto the ground. "That dirty fleabag Avery attacked us while we were sleeping. So now I'm waiting to see if one of the Kremlings found a way out."

"Which Kremling?" DK asked.

"Uh..." K. Rool thought for a moment. "I believe it was Kass? I'm not so sure to be honest."

DK and Dixie rolled their eyes. Sure, a smaller Kremling could certainly find a way out. But what about Kutlass? Or one of the Klaptraps? They could even fit through the window if the wanted to.

K. Rool snorted. "Hey, if you don't believe me then what's this?"

He walked over to the wall and moved the blanket aside. Some of the bricks were missing, which created a small opening. At the very least, the Kongs looked a little surprised.

"Impressive, isn't it?" K. Rool said proudly. "Although...the only problem is that I can't get out of there on my own."

"Well, maybe Dixie could fit?" DK suggested, earning a worried look from Dixie. "But what if they catch me out there?"

"Oh, right!" DK said while he tried to think. "Maybe you could go through there at night then?"

"That...actually not a bad idea, considering that it's coming from you," K. Rool replied. He looked down at Dixie. "What do you think? Can you do it?"

"Of course," Dixie said with energy in her voice, "How do you think we got through Crocodile Isle in the first place?"

K. Rool opened his jaw for a moment before closing it. He wasn't sure how to respond to the comment, he quickly shook his head. "Whatever, just make sure that Avery doesn't catch you...got it?"

With that said, the group would have to wait until night time came. If one of the Kremlings could escape, then Dixie was certain that she could find a way to help everyone else escape, too.

* * *

Back on Donkey Kong Island, Diddy was going through some stuff inside the treehouse. He grabbed a backpack, a couple of bananas, the first-aid kit from earlier, a tent, a popgun, and a green hoodie. It was scorching hot today, so he'd have to put it on when he got to Breezy's island.

Once he was pack up and ready, Diddy began to head back over to Funky's garage. There, he could see Breezy examining the plane while Kass leaned against the wall. From the looks of it, they weren't up to much while he was gone.

"I hope you've got everything ready," Kass said sternly. "Because you might not come back for a while."

"I know that," Diddy replied. "And it's not like we haven't done something like this, before. Besides, it took us about month to get our island back LAST time."

Kass raised an eyebrow, "You guys went missing for an entire month?"

"Didn't you notice how frozen the island was?"

"Well...yeah, but I just thought that you guys liked the snow for some reason."

"Ugh..."

Eventually, Tiny made her way over the garage. She had a purple backpack, a sleeve from her sweater was poking out.

"I hope you've packed some food, too," Diddy said with a stern expression. Tiny replied with a shrug, "Hey...I've got a few pineapples and a fishing rod, so we'll be fine."

Diddy rolled his eyes, he looked at Breezy with a curious expression. "Hey, are we ready or what?"

"I believe so," Breezy replied. "I'm surprised you Kongs have such a good airplane on your hands."

"Well, DK told me that Funky got into planes because of Osprey," Diddy replied.

"Huh...I'd believe it," Breezy as she hopped inside of the plane. She couldn't help but think of what other impacts that Osprey's had here. For all she knew, he could've been the one responsible for turning Crocodile Isle into a metal fortress. As she started the plane, the others hopped in as well.

"Hang on tight!" Breezy said as the plane began to move. She had a determined smile on her face, the plane's wheels would bump against the dirt and sand along the ground. At first, the trio sitting in the back looked terrified. Kass held onto her seat while Tiny held onto Diddy's arm. But once the plane took off, everyone was finally able to relax.

Breezy turned the plane around and started heading north. It had to be fall where they were going, so of course it would get cold once they landed.

"So where exactly is the Isle of Thickets?" Diddy asked. "Is it somewhere near New Donk City?"

"It's a little further north than that," Breezy replied. "Just think of it like Donkey Kong Island, but more...temperate."

Diddy replied with a nod. He couldn't help but wonder how so many monkeys could get so many Kongs onto that island so quickly. Though given the speed that Funky's plane was going, it would probably take less than a day to get to the Isle o' Thickets. He should probably get comfortable while he still can.

Meanwhile, Breezy was ecstatic. Though Osprey was no longer with them, she was happy she could find someone similar to help her. It was about time that Avery got what he deserved, and Breezy was going to make sure of it.

* * *

Several hours had passed, and the sun was already going down. Diddy and Kass were looking outside the plane, they could see the busy lights that illuminated New Donk City from across the sea.

"Is it true that DK himself went over there and kidnapped some lady?"

"Yeah, but so did Cranky," Diddy replied. Kass gave him a strange look. "Why would HE want to kidnap some lady?"

"For revenge."

Kass shook her head, whatever those two Kongs were doing over there, it probably wasn't her business anyhow. While Diddy and Kass were talking, Tiny had a finger in her ear. She was very uncomfortable, and she wished that she had brought some gum with her.

"How much longer until we get to the Isle of thickets?" Tiny asked, almost complaining. Breezy replied with a shrug. "Maybe about an hour or two, maybe longer than that."

Tiny let out a groan as she slid out of her seat. "And I'll bet that Dixie has all that gum with her, too!"

"Here, you can have some of mine," Breezy said as she pulled some gum out of her pocket before handing it over to Tiny. The small ape accepted it and threw the wrapper aside before she started chewing it.

The group continued to sit back as Breezy continued to fly the plane. It wasn't until mid-night when the group could finally see the island. The bottom of the island was covered in dense forest, while the top of the island mostly consisted of rough mountain terrain. At the very top of the mountain was what looked like a large castle. The island gave Diddy vibes of Crocodile Isle. Not the metal fortress, but rather the Crocodile Isle that loomed over Donkey Kong Island before it sank into the ocean.

"Say, why can't you just fly into the castle up there?" Tiny asked.

"Because all the other Thickets will attack us if we do that," Breezy replied. "Look up for a moment, do you see anything?"

The trio looked up at the sky. Sure enough, they could see lights flying above them. Each light was one of the Thickets searching for outsiders, the thought of such a heavily guarded place was so unsettling, even Kass looked uncomfortable.

"I suggest we head on over to the beach for tonight," Breezy said, "That way, we'll be ready to get through the island."

"And where are we supposed to stay?" Tiny asked. "We can't just go out there and expect everything to be A-OK when we land!"

"Trust me, I know a place that not even Avery bothers to check."

The plane landed on a long boardwalk, the group was finally able to hop out of the plane and stretch. They all began to follow Breezy. Though no matter how safe they may be, Diddy couldn't help but draw comparisons to Crocodile Isle. He remembers having to hide just so the Kremlings wouldn't kill him, he remembers having to flee from so many deranged villains just to try and stay alive...

...But of course, that was a couple years ago. Back when he knew nothing about how adventures work, back when he thought that he could never see DK ever again. Surely, things would be different on this island, right? Heck, the Kongs have lost their island to VIKINGS at one point, so it's not like they couldn't handle it...right?

Tiny started holding onto Diddy's arm again, much like how she would do whenever Dixie became upset. She probably knew that something was bothering him, so he decided not to question it.

Breezy lead the trio into a cabin. There was a small bunk bed on one side, while the other side consisted of books covered in dust. There were vines growing from outside the windows, it was as if the cabin was slowly being eaten away by nature.

"I know there's not much room in here, but feel free to make yourselves at home," Breezy said as she closed the door behind her. Kass sat down on the floor while the Kongs claimed the bunk bed. Diddy took the top bunk while Tiny had the bottom bunk.

While everyone was settling in for the night, Breezy turned on a nearby lantern and stood outside. Hardly anyone would want to come down to a cabin like this, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Diddy curled up on his side, he wondered how he was going to do anything with an injured wrist. Though if it's anything that he's learned about his adventures, it's that he didn't need to be the strongest in order to be a hero.

...Still, he hoped that the other Kongs would be fine without him right now. Knowing DK and Dixie, they could probably manage on their own.


	4. Chapter 4

_**I updated this sometime around Valentine's Day over on Ao3, but I hadn't gotten a chance to put it up here until now.**_

* * *

It was late at night, and most of the castle had gone quiet...save for a few Thicket guards walking the castle halls.

One of the guards walked through the dungeon, he examined every Kong and Kremling in each cell. When he examined K. Rool's cell, he could see the Kremling sitting against the wall with his arms behind his head. DK was sitting on the opposite side of the wall while Dixie dug through his fur.

Content with his job, the guard left the dungeon. When the coast was clear, DK looked at Dixie with a determined look on his face.

"You know what you're doin', right?"

Dixie nodded."Find the key, then come back."

"Good," K. Rool said quietly as he lifted the blanket. "And whatever you do, don't get caught!"

Quickly, Dixie made her way over to the hole in the wall. When she looked down, she could see that the area below was covered in a dense fog. Heights never bothered her, but she felt like she wouldn't survive if she jumped down from here.

The ape clinged onto the wall as she jumped out of the hole, she started making her way to a window that was large enough for a plane to go through. She had to assume that it lead to another room. And sure enough, she could see that she was right.

She climbed through the window. From what she could tell, she was in some-sort of garage. There were planes sitting in the back of the room, but in the center of the room looked like a machine of some-sort, though she couldn't tell what it was.

She quietly made her way into the hallway, she would make sure to hide from the lights given off by the torches the guards had on them. Her heart skipped a beat when one guard nearly caught her, though she was quick enough to slip away when she wasn't looking.

Eventually, she found her way into a large bedroom at the top of the castle. She had to assume this was Avery's room, which meant that the key should be in here, somewhere.

Dixie started digging through Avery's drawer. She found a few suits, some socks, and some jewelry… But no key. The young ape was about to look somewhere else when her eyes spotted a photo of some sort. When Dixie looked at the photo, she could see two monkey kids. One of which looked an awful lot like Diddy, actually.

Dixie could hear someone opening the door, she quickly closed the drawers and scrambled under the bed. She hid the photo under her beret, it wasn't like Avery needed it right now. And besides, maybe DK could tell her who these kids were?

Avery had walked in, he was talking to someone, though Dixie couldn't see any other feet from where she was. Perhaps he had a parrot? Or some other pet bird?

"I just don't get it," Avery said bitterly. "Breezy's such a good pilot, she should've been here by now!"

"Well, maybe she ran into some problems?" Said another voice. It sounded raspy, Dixie had to assume that it came from a Necky.

"What? Do you think her plane broke down or something? Because she can just fix it, herself!"

"True...but what if she landed in the middle of the ocean? Or she got taken down by a sea monster?"

"Then she can figure out how to survive on her own," Avery said in annoyance. "Look, why don't you just sit on your perch while I get something to eat? We'll talk about this later!"

Once Avery left, the Necky fluttered until he hit the ground. He walked closer to the bed, which made Dixie back away. Although, getting caught was inevitable at this point. The Necky brought his neck into the bed.

"I knew there was someone else here," said the bird. "Though I guess I should be happy that it's not that Kremling girl."

Dixie furrowed her eyebrows, "You mean Kass?"

"Yep, I helped her escape not that long ago," the Necky said as he offered to pull Dixie out of the bed with his wing. "I asked her to go look for help on Donkey Kong Island."

"Well, that didn't exactly work out like you planned...did it?" Dixie said as she crawled out of the bed. The Necky was roughly the same size as her. But unlike the ones back home, this Necky had white feathers and a black beak. From a distance, one could mistake him for an ugly seagull.

"So let me guess, you want to find that key too, huh? The Necky asked. Dixie replied with a nod.

"Well, the bad news is that Avery has it. So if you wanna get out, you'll have to find some other way."

The door began to open again. But before Dixie could do anything, the Necky grabbed her ponytail with his beak. He spoke in a quick yet hushed voice, "Play along!"

"Can you believe this, Snowy?" Avery asked in disbelief. "Apparently, one of the Kongs managed to get out!"

"I'm way ahead of ya, sir!" Snowy replied. "Should we just take her back?"

Avery looked down at Dixie. He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "She'll go back for now. But if she does this again, she'll be bird food!"

"Yes, sir!"

With that said, Avery grabbed her arm and dragged her across the floor. Dixie looked up at Snowy with an annoyed expression, though the Necky understood her frustration. She was thrown back to her cell like a bowling ball, hitting K. Rool in the stomach.

"You'd better keep an eye on that brat of yours, DK! Because next time I won't go easy on her!"

With that said, Avery left the dungeon. Dixie reoriented herself and looked at Snowy. "So now what?"

"Well...I'd say wait for Kass to show up, but I'm not sure if she actually DID find help."

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Diddy at all when we got here," DK said. "You don't suppose he's still out there, do you?"

K. Rool was about to yell at DK about how ridiculous that was, but he closed his jaws as he tried to think. "Actually, you're right. If Diddy were here, he would've been thrown in here by now."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Dixie's head. She faced Snowy and desperately grabbed the bars. "Listen, could you do me a favor and see if Diddy's on this island? He's a brown monkey with a red hat!"

"Of course, " Snowy replied. "I'll let you know if I see anything! "

"Good, just let him know that we're in the dungeon!"

"And let him know that we're fine for now," DK added. K. Rool glared at him, "Did you forget that we're locked in a CAGE!?"

"Yeah...but you'll get used to it after a while," DK said in a snarky tone. K. Rool rolled his eyes.

With that said, Snowy flew out of the dungeon as quickly as his wings would carry him. What the group failed to realize was that Avery was standing just outside of the dungeon.

"So it looks like we've missed a couple people…"

He wondered if Breezy had anything to do with this. But perhaps this might not be a bad thing? If this "Diddy" could make it to the island somehow, then the least that Avery could do was introduce himself.

He quietly slipped away and spoke to a guard who wandered the castle halls.

"Make sure those Kongs and Kremlings keep working on that robot while I'm gone. And make sure you keep an eye out for that little Kong girl with the pink shirt. If she breaks out again, make sure you work both her AND those kings to the bone!"

"Yes, sir!" Said the Thicket as he continued to march through the castle. With that said, Avery headed over to his bedroom to prepare himself for the journey ahead. Somehow, he could tell that he was going to enjoy this.


End file.
